Reviewing The 50 Year of Women Participation in Politics
Nigeria attained its independence from the British in 1960 and celebrated its 50th anniversary on October 1, 2010. Fifty years down the line the statistics of women’s representation in politics and decision making remains abysmally poor. No woman has ever occupied the position of President or Vice President neither has any been elected governor of any of the thirty-six states. In fifty years, Nigeria has had only seven female deputy governors. The highest representation women have had in the Federal Executive Council is 20% in the 2007 – 2011 Cabinet.
The highest number of women have attained in the Senate is nine out of the one hundred and nine members i.e. 8.3%. Worse still, in the House of Representatives of three hundred and sixty members, there are only twenty-seven women, constituting a paltry 7.5%. Out of sixty-three political parties, in 2010 only one, the United National Party for Development (UNPD) has a female Chairperson.
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